Microspeak: acronymania...
OOF A TLA that's turned into a word of its own. Stands for "out of office," although as an accurate acronym it leaves something to be desired. (OOO would be more precise. Historians tell us that OOF originally meant "out of facility" [or, alternatively, "off of facility" or, even more alternatively, "Out of Office Feature," which last may be the most logical derivation], a vastly more awkward and stiff way of saying "out of office.") Most frequently used as a part of the phrases "OOF mail" or "OOF notice," meaning an automatic e-mail response to correspondents informing them that the receiver will be out of the office for a designated period. Also occasionally used, rather irritatingly, in conversation: "I'm OOF next Friday; you'll have to drive on it." © Ken Barnes	As the emergence of a word tends to imply that the concept it relates to is gaining currency, should we believe that being frequently out of the office is becoming a status symbol?

Microspeak: acronymania...

OOF: A TLA that's turned into a word of its own. Stands for "out of office," although as an accurate acronym it leaves something to be desired. (OOO would be more precise. Historians tell us that OOF originally meant "out of facility" [or, alternatively, "off of facility" or, even more alternatively, "Out of Office Feature," which last may be the most logical derivation], a vastly more awkward and stiff way of saying "out of office.") Most frequently used as a part of the phrases "OOF mail" or "OOF notice," meaning an automatic e-mail response to correspondents informing them that the receiver will be out of the office for a designated period. Also occasionally used, rather irritatingly, in conversation: "I'm OOF next Friday; you'll have to drive on it."

As the emergence of a word tends to imply that the concept it relates to is gaining currency, should we believe that being frequently out of the office is becoming a status symbol?

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